A COMPANY accountant who swindled more than £225,000 from his firm to fund a luxury lifestyle was jailed for three years yesterday.

As well as a £150,000 share portfolio with Gerards of London, Douglas Long paid off his mortgage, bought a second home, a BMW coupe and a Mazda convertible.

He also spent £50,000 on home improvements and £2,000 on a bathroom suite.

At the height of his deception, Long was taking an average £10,000 a month from his unsuspecting employers.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how Long took £225,577 over four years from Newcastle electrical wholesalers EGS, starting in 1995.

Glen Gatland, prosecuting, told the court that Long was employed as a company accountant with the firm in August 1993.

By 1995, he started setting up two bank accounts for bogus companies through which he would launder the stolen cash.

He raised false invoices for goods purchased from a false company called AB Services, and enlisted the help of Cliff Scott, manager of the Sunderland branch of EGS, to aid his deception.

Mr Scott, who was sacked in 1995, received a police caution after signing false invoices for goods.

In 2001, EGS, which had eight branches in the North-East, ceased trading because of Long's activities.

It has since been taken over by another firm, which brought a successful civil judgement for £220,000 against Long last year.

After his arrest in March last year, Long's home in Beach Road, Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, was raided and 22 Ecstasy tablets were found.

Peter Schofield, in mitigation, said there was already a fraud under way and Long simply took part in it.

Long, 35, pleaded guilty to eight charges of deception and theft, and asked for a further 62 to be taken into account. He also admitted possessing a class A drug.